The Safflower Chapter of The Tale of Genji
- Date
-
Made Mid Muromachi period(16th century)
- Measurements
- 24.7×16.1
- Materials, techniques and shape
- Ink on paper
- Collections
- Century Akao Collection
- Depository
- Institute of Oriental Classics (Shido Bunko)
This manuscript of “The Safflower” Chapter of The Tale of Genji from the Kohitsu Family Material is accompanied by an appraisal dated to the early summer of the 10th year of the Meiji era (1877) stating that it was inscribed by the poet Shōhaku, although it is not by Shōhaku. The manuscript has a yellow-green cover and is bound vertically with the tetsuyōsō (multisection) technique, which was common during the Muromachi period (1336–1573). The paper used is not the high-quality torinoko (ganpi), but kōzō (mulberry). The first lines of the waka poems are written two characters lower than the main text of the story, and the poems are broken up into two lines. The not particularly skillful calligraphy is in thick ink, resembling the style of renga (linked verse) poets, and there are no notes in the margins of the text. There is a Tale of Genji manuscript inscribed by Shōhaku at the Tenri Library, which was also used to compare the characters of The Tale of Genji manuscripts for the modern Genji monogatari taisei edition, but the style and shapes of the calligraphy of that version differ from the ones in this one. There are also many differences in the text of this manuscript when compared to books based on the textual lineage of the Teika copy, and this manuscript is noteworthy as being closer to the Ōshima copy, the copy also used for Genji monogatari taisei. Beside a few missing pages due to errors in the binding, there are also other lost sections. However, no fragments of calligraphy in the same handwriting have been discovered. This manuscript is a valuable source for the study of the activities of the Honke during the Meiji era (1868–1912).／"These sheets are some of the oldest extant fragments of The Tale of the Heike, inscribed with a unique version of the tale for reading preserved on pieces from handscrolls known as the Nagato Fragments. These fragments have been attracting much attention lately. These three leaves from the Kohitsu Family Material are part of about 80 leaves of the Nagato Fragments that survive to this day. Although their calligraph has been attributed to SESONJI Yukitoshi (died 1407), it was actually a collaborative effort transcribed during an earlier period. At least three different calligraphers from the Sesonji School can be confirmed to have inscribed these leaves. The calligraphy is relatively close to the 48-volume Record of the Rise and Fall of the Taira and the Minamoto (Genpei seisuiki), and when compared to that text, these fragments can be identified as follows: fragment A and B are part of volume 26, and C is part of volume 18, although there are many differences between these two texts. A and B are by the same hand, but C is by a different calligrapher. Binding holes near the right edge of fragment C can also be seen. Fragment D is actually not The Tale of the Heike but part of a Buddhist text in kana script from a scroll and can be attributed to a third calligrapher different from the ones who inscribed A, B and C. Nonetheless, the reverse side of the paper includes the inscription: “Fragment of a Scroll of the Tale of the Heike by SESONJI Yukitoshi.” This inscription makes these works interesting examples of how fragments of calligraphy were appraised during the Edo period (1603–1868).
Description from the exhibition Catalogue "Letter-scape: Century Akao Collection, A World of Letters and Figures", Keio Museum Commons, April 2021
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Depository and ID
Components
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Details
Identifiers
- Title (EN)
- The Safflower Chapter of The Tale of Genji
- Object unit
-
古筆本家資料
Component number セコ束3-別置
Physical description
- Weights and quantities
-
Quantity 1帖
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